


Family

by Whoops_Im_Obsessed



Category: MASH, MASH (1970), MASH (TV)
Genre: Ambiguous Relationships, Developing Friendships, It might be Charles, Make up your own mind, Mentions of Death, Mentions of Violence, friendships, it might not, mentions of illness, mentions of injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-10
Updated: 2018-06-10
Packaged: 2019-05-20 13:32:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14895521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whoops_Im_Obsessed/pseuds/Whoops_Im_Obsessed
Summary: Growing up Irish, Francis Mulcahy always had a rather large family.





	Family

Growing up Irish, Francis Mulcahy had always had a rather large family. Well, that's how other people saw it, Francis preferred to think of them as 'people he happened to live with and also Kathy' - a very sophisticated title, I'm sure you'll agree.  
  
Growing up Catholic, Francis also had a lot of influence from the church. His parents loved to quote the 4th commandment at him whenever they felt he had been cheeky. Note how there is no commandment telling you to 'honour thy children'.  
  
Kathy, he supposed, was the only relative he considered family. Poorer families like his own  learnt not to grow too close to one another, as one could never tell who would be lucky and who would not. Francis' relatives were not. There was Louis, who had contracted Polio at age 6; there was Andrew, who went off to war but never came home; there was Michael, Andrew's twin, who came back from war but was never the same; and there were all those who never even made it into the world.  
  
Perhaps that is what made it easier for Francis, walking around and staring death in the face. It didn't phase him as much as the other men, because Francis had not only stared death in the face, but had walked away afterwards.  
But that also made it harder.  
Watching the doctors at work, giving back life, only served to remind Francis of all the faces of those who couldn't afford healthcare. All the people like him, who could barely afford to eat, and as a result had to go without many basic necessities.  
He remembered the little girl down the road who caught a cold and never came back to school.  
He remembered the toddler who grazed his knee, and could never walk again.  
He remembered his own weeks spent begging, after influenza hit.  
  
And as he reflected on his miserable excuse for a childhood, another man came to sit by his side. Looking up, into a soul that was a mirror of his own, Francis could see the struggle in his eyes. The lonely man, who struggled to keep up his pompous facade.  
The man looked at Francis with something akin to recognition in his eyes, as if he too had experienced days like these, where everything reminds you of the gutter.  
  
Just as Francis was about to speak, the lonely man raised his hand for silence and began to talk.  
  
And Francis listened as this arrogant, ignorant, yet so vunerable man, bared his soul to the priest. Listened as the man spoke tales of his young years, when he was taken in by a kind couple, and promptly primped and primed for the elite. And as Francis listened, he realised that the lonely man was not all that he seemed. This lonely man who was forced to become something he was not. This lonely man, who was a good man.  
  
The pair sat and swapped stories for what seemed like hours, and Francis was pleased to finally have someone who understood him. Pleased to have a friend.  
Their conversation only ended when they were joined by the other officers. At this point, the good man abruptly left. With a bow of his head, and a "Gentlemen", he was gone. And Francis couldn't help but smile.  
  
Living on an army base, Francis Mulcahy always had rather a lot of people around him. Well, that's how other people saw it, Francis preferred to think of them as his family.  
  



End file.
